1. Decades Later, Still Asking: Would I Pull That Switch?

Comment #205280 by jo5ef on July 7, 2008 at 2:29 am

While aspects of the Stanford prison experiment were undoubtedly flawed, it is clear that it does furnish us with yet another example of the surprisingly high degree of compliance shown to authority by people in institutional situations. The strip search prank call scam http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strip_search_prank_call_scam is another recent, and frightening, example.

2. Psychiatrists: Least Religious But Most Interested In Patients' Religion

Comment #201045 by jo5ef on June 28, 2008 at 9:18 pm

"several mental illnesses are known to be associated with hyper-religiosity"

Seems reasonable, now how do you quantify religiosity, is it a 1 to 10 scale with hyper being say 8 or higher (10 would be self declared prophet or god incarnate presumably).

3. Texas Supreme Court rules church can't be sued in exorcism

Comment #201043 by jo5ef on June 28, 2008 at 9:08 pm

"On Friday evening, during preparations for a youth group garage sale, the atmosphere became "spiritually charged" when another youth said he saw a demon. Under direction of the youth minister, the youth frantically anointed everything in the church with holy oil until, at 4:30 a.m. Saturday, the minister told the exhausted youth that they had finally been successful."
Talk about the demon haunted world, these people are detached from reality. Having said that, it sounds like the girls issues predate this particular episode to which she seems to have played along with to some extent (guttural noises etc).

4. Evangelical grunts

Comment #201004 by jo5ef on June 28, 2008 at 6:22 pm

"The episode led Major General Jeffery Hammond to go prostrate before tribal leaders in Radwaniyah and say: "I come before you here seeking your forgiveness. In the most humble manner I look in your eyes today and I say please forgive me and my soldiers.""
It's difficult to judge the situation from a distance, but I don't think the Major General should have indulged the locals to this extent. At any rate it somewhat contradicts the article's premise.

5. The End of Theory: The Data Deluge Makes the Scientific Method Obsolete

Comment #200125 by jo5ef on June 27, 2008 at 12:07 am

Usually I'm a fan of a bit of arm waving about the impact of the Internet etc on human knowledge myself, but this article seems to be incoherent and lacking in real insight.

6. Is the Universe Actually Made of Math?

Comment #195968 by jo5ef on June 19, 2008 at 6:15 am

Wow all these different types of multiverses sound amazing but isn't it better to try to expain the observable unverse without resorting to unprovable entities?

7. As the world becomes smaller, the need to understand each other's faith grows

Comment #193545 by jo5ef on June 15, 2008 at 7:57 pm

I agree with some of the above comments that endorse the idea of teaching comparative religion. Evidence only said: "I'm all for comprehensive comparative religion courses for everyone: a short one for those under 12 and a more in-depth one for those under 18 …Teaching everyone about all religions is one of the best cures against ... religion."
That sounded a lot like an immunisation program which made me think, maybe the best way to inoculate our populations against religious viruses (and other irrational ways of thinking) is a series of short courses in critical thinking and comparative religion (with no direct criticism of any religion) repeated every few years to schoolchildren.

8. The 14-year-old Afghan suicide bomber

Comment #190993 by jo5ef on June 10, 2008 at 4:07 am

I wonder if the boy was aware of this case last year: http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/07/d3d050ac-7a59-4d70-94f2-34edfcef9546.html
I do think the individual holds responsibility in these cases, they are surely aware they are commiting murder.

9. When two worlds collide: threat of class warfare over faith-based schooling

Comment #187850 by jo5ef on June 2, 2008 at 9:19 pm

I'm an Australian as well and tihis really pxxxs me off. "an education sanitised of any religious beliefs or values" sounds like the best kind to me, youve got your churches for disseminating superstition, isnt that enough?
To paraphrase Gillards speech "blah meaningless waffle blah" - thats MY tax money there you're spending Julia and Kev and I'm sick of subsidizing this crap. The worst thing is, we're all locked into it, if you want a better education for your kids than the public schools offer (and some of them are frankly appaling) you have to choose from religious based private schools so noone wants to rock the boat.
As said previously, the French have the right idea.

10. Random Acts of Evolution

Comment #187318 by jo5ef on June 1, 2008 at 11:19 pm

"Our genome is the White Album???"
That gave me my first good laugh for the day!

11. Teacher tortures, kills boy

Comment #186996 by jo5ef on June 1, 2008 at 3:21 am

Thanks to Tetsujin for your insightful comments. I wasn't aware of this aspect of Islam and can't help thinking that the training you described is a powerful way of controlling peoples minds and is no doubt a factor behind the great success of the Muslim faith â€" the more time the brain spends running pre-programmed routines the less time for conscious thought.

12. Group wants Wi-Fi banned from public buildings

Comment #186637 by jo5ef on May 30, 2008 at 10:11 pm

I suggest all those who think more tests are necessary read the link in comment 4 first.
Styrer your comments seem irrelevant and your worship of Chomsky is creepy.

13. What Genes Remember

Comment #184577 by jo5ef on May 25, 2008 at 7:01 pm

"A major overhaul in evolutionary theory"? Steady on there fella, the study referenced hardly seems that momentous. The discussion of evolutionary mechanisms is also flawed IMO. Mutation and NS are not the 2 mechanisms we know of, mutation is the source of variation that NS acts on. And what about genetic drift?
Numerous other errors here which i'm sure my fellow posters will be happy to point out.

14. Five Things Humans No Longer Need

Comment #184132 by jo5ef on May 23, 2008 at 6:32 pm

OK Frankus1122, I'll have a go. While people living in modern western cities may not be at risk of being selected against, the eruption of wisdom teeth can cause serious infection in teenagers (it happened to me, ouch). If untreated this could certainly impact on their reproductive success, especially in conjunction with other health issues. If you look at the proportion of the worlds population that still don't have access to adequate medical care then I think its possible that selection is still occurring. If (for instance) a teenage boy in sub-Saharan Africa, already struggling with various parasitic conditions, gets a serious and debilitating abscess due to an impacted wisdom tooth, and his only treatment option is the local witch doctor, this could result in permanent disfiguration (which may harm his chances of finding a wife) or even death.

15. Sun's properties not 'fine-tuned' for life

Comment #183788 by jo5ef on May 22, 2008 at 8:21 pm

Well life in the earths core seems extremely unlikely but I think it entirely possible that the first signs of extraterrestrial life will be found in our solar system.

16. Indian village proud after double 'honor killing'

Comment #181650 by jo5ef on May 17, 2008 at 7:36 pm

A recent article posted here on an honour killing in Iraq generated several pages of anti islam rhetoric. I commented there that these appalling customs are rooted more in tribal rather than religious tradition, as discussed by mmurray above. Blaming religion for all the worlds problems doesnt make athiests look at all reasonable IMO.

17. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #180047 by jo5ef on May 14, 2008 at 6:24 am

Ahem, I'm the guy who sent in the link, its kind of the internet equivalent to poking a stick in an anthill, I must say its succeeded beyond my expectations.

18. 'My daughter deserved to die for falling in love'

Comment #178578 by jo5ef on May 11, 2008 at 4:09 pm

Fair summary Al Rawandi.
I'm not a big fan of Islam but the revolting practice of honour killing appears to be associated with tribalism more than a specific religion.

19. Atheists are nice people who will roast in hell, says Cardinal

Comment #177968 by jo5ef on May 10, 2008 at 4:44 am

Given this site champions critical thinking, I'm surprised to see how easily many are taken in by this obvious satire. I liked this line: " The leader of Roman Catholics in England and Wales stressed that a 'hidden God' was active in everyone's life, often nipping to the shops for them or wiping down their kitchen surfaces." he he.

20. Science 2.0 -- Is Open Access Science the Future?

Comment #168184 by jo5ef on April 24, 2008 at 5:20 pm

This is the next step in the evolution of science, and will lead to great discoveries.

21. Investigating Atheism

Comment #168182 by jo5ef on April 24, 2008 at 5:14 pm

It smelled fishy to me also, thanks to all those who took the time to expose the motivations behind this weak-ass site. It seems to be another example of religious types trying to scare would-be atheists by exaggerating the nihilism and pointlessness of an atheistic world view.
I'd also like to make the comment, as an "old" atheist who hasn't even got round to reading any of the 4 horseman books yet (sorry, but there are so many other great books to read, and I don't need to be convinced) that I actually disagree with the frequently stated position on this site that humans are born atheists. My six year old son, despite unbelieving parents and little or no religious education (one of the primary sources of his religious ideas appears to be "The Simpsons"), appears at this early stage to harbour a firm belief in God. I have a feeling he'll come around, and don't feel the need to convince him out of it (actually its quite charming) but I do attempt to subtly plant questions in his mind.
I'm wondering if an "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" argument might be applicable here â€" hopefully the enlightenment will arrive at around 10 years old!

22. Evolution: 24 myths and misconceptions

Comment #162979 by jo5ef on April 17, 2008 at 6:35 pm

"If you think you understand it, you don't know nearly enough about it"
I know what the writer means, but i think this comment encapsulates whats wrong with the way science is sometimes presented in the public arena. It is intepreted as "you lowly peasants should not even bother to try to understand important scientific concepts". I dont think Darwin or Dawkins would agree, or why have they written books targetted at lay audiences?

23. Yoko Ono, Filmmakers Caught in 'Expelled' Flap

Comment #162422 by jo5ef on April 16, 2008 at 11:31 pm

The Killers lead singer is an egotistical mormon so, no big surprise. Shilling for the DI sure doesnt do much for your rock star credibility but IMO their music is overrated and derivative anyways.

24. Biologists Take Evolution Beyond Darwin Way Beyond

Comment #156217 by jo5ef on April 7, 2008 at 6:06 am

Bugger, my carefully reasoned post just vanished into cyberspace so, rather than write it again, i'll just say: Surely Dawkins concept of memes fits with Woeses assertion that: "The process of evolution is fundamental to the universe. Biology is the most obvious manifestation".
Also, I wasn't aware that scientific opinion is unanimous wrt the eventual heat death of the universe being inevitable (although i admit its odds on favorite).

25. Biologists Take Evolution Beyond Darwin Way Beyond

Comment #156127 by jo5ef on April 6, 2008 at 11:21 pm

Hmm should have proofread, should be "emergent" in second sentence.

26. Biologists Take Evolution Beyond Darwin Way Beyond

Comment #156122 by jo5ef on April 6, 2008 at 9:21 pm

There seems to be some real know alls on this site lately. I'm with Rob, emrgence is a useful adjective when used correctly. I understand it to mean a property which couldnt be predicted based on knowldege of the components of a system, eg you can't predict a waterspout based on knowledge of air and water chemistry, molecular theory and Newtonian physics. I realize this ( and the article) is a bit handwaving, but I reckon Carl Woese is an excellent scientist, a very original thinker, and will continue to break new ground.
I imagine if you'd spoken to Darwin about his ideas 20yrs before Origin was published they would probably have also sounded a bit woolly.

27. Darwin told us so: Researcher shows natural selection speeds up speciation

Comment #154161 by jo5ef on April 2, 2008 at 7:24 pm

Brilliant - not only can field experiments be performed that support evolution by NS, but you can even do it in your own back yard!

28. Supreme Court to consider Ten Commandments vs. 'Seven Aphorisms'

Comment #153747 by jo5ef on April 2, 2008 at 1:31 am

I also had a look at the article in wiki, i have to admit i find the early evolution/speciation of these nascent religions fascinating. Utah seems to be a veritable Galapagos.

29. Fossil find could be Europe's first humans

Comment #150984 by jo5ef on March 27, 2008 at 11:31 pm

Nice one Dr Doctor! Alright fundies, how does it go.."grab your torch and pitchfork"?

30. EXPELLED!

Comment #147975 by jo5ef on March 21, 2008 at 5:25 pm

Wow, i didn't know that, in the home of the free, the police can throw you out of a cinema complex, if you don't happen to have a ticket to one of the movies, for talking quietly to your friends in the lobby.
The irony is hilarious, but I'm a little disturbed how easy such people always seem to find it to get the cops to do their bidding.

31. Atheists claim censorship by billboard company

Comment #147044 by jo5ef on March 19, 2008 at 5:46 pm

Skeptic Pete. I think the question was "name an ancient hebrew prophet whose message of love and peace has been distorted by bullys and demagogues ever since in order to increase their personal wealth and manipulate the credulous"

32. Out of the Blue

Comment #140762 by jo5ef on March 8, 2008 at 2:35 pm

Some of you folks should go to the link and read the whole article, once he can model a rat brain, he intends to downlaod it to a robat rat body.
Admittedly, it seems ambitious, but this to me sounds like the best research plan for designing thinking robots that i've heard of.

33. Please Call Earth. We Still Haven't Found You.

Comment #139470 by jo5ef on March 5, 2008 at 11:34 pm

I also think the discovery of any kind of lifeform (which will hopefully occur within our own solar system before too mcuh longer?), would profoundly affect humanity.
Imagine, an alternative replicator to DNA!
- Or DNA based life on other planets, either prospect is breathtaking.

34. Darwin's dangerous idea

Comment #137334 by jo5ef on March 2, 2008 at 4:59 pm

Its unfortunate that an article that appears to support Darwins ideas contains the pharase "surely this is why God created computers"
i think its a bit unfair to pin this one on the big guy.
As to why Darwins ideas are so scary, i have said it before , but i think it comes down to hating the idea that we evolved form apes and are therefore apes ourselves. Many if not most people are really uncomfortable with where that line of thinking leads.

35. Missing link found in Sydney Harbour

Comment #131612 by jo5ef on February 22, 2008 at 5:23 pm

I think the reason that scientists discussing evolution are so prone to using the same kind of language that is used to describe the actions of intelligent agents is that there is some parallel between organic evolution and the process whereby brains develop ideas and concepts. I realize this is a bit hand waving, but I think eventually we'll find organic evolution by NS to be one example of a whole range of natural phenomena that feature a finite set of symbols that can be combined in infinite ways to form larger units that are then subject to some sort of selective pressure.
My question is: can you have intelligence without consiousness?

36. The argument from oranges

Comment #128251 by jo5ef on February 16, 2008 at 3:55 pm

This has pxxxxd me off so much i'm adding a post i made on evolutionblog where the Huxley - Wilberforce exchange was being discussed. A Huxley type response was clearly needed here!

The bishops apocryphal comments underline the big problem most fundamentalist xtians etc have with evolution: they dont care (and therefore won't even try to understand) the mechanism, they just HATE the idea of being descended from apes, with the obvious conclusion that we ARE apes and therefore are just the same as all other animals. This then forces us to confront our inevitable mortality. The usual result of this train of thought is the kind of "la la la i cant hear you (hands over ears)" diatribes and sarcastic distortions weve been hearing from religious folk ever since Soapy Sam.
In fact thats why the story of Huxley and the bishop rings so true. Weve all had some smug fool try to score cheap points like that, and perhaps we havent been able to put them in their place as well as Huxley did. If the tale isn't true, it ought to be!

37. Virus immunity 'created in lab'

Comment #128046 by jo5ef on February 15, 2008 at 11:15 pm

Good research, but this is a hell of a long way from market. The TGN1412 disaster has underlined the difficulty of tinkering with the immune system. Anyone here keen to sign up for phase one trials?

38. Earliest bats did not 'see' with sound

Comment #126686 by jo5ef on February 14, 2008 at 12:34 am

Thanks Epinephrine for the interesting link though i'm bound to say that im a little dissappointed that megabats didnt turn out to be even bigger.
Echolocation is a great example of how even evolution can even create new senses. I'm curious as to how many there are as well as the 5 (or so) we know and love.

39. Dusty Clues: Study suggests no dearth of Earths

Comment #122753 by jo5ef on February 6, 2008 at 1:01 am

Wow 300 deg K, thats balmy, theres got to be something growing in all that stuff.

BTW there are 2 kinds of people in the world, those who think there are 2 kinds of people in the world and those who know better

40. Could there be a Darwinian Account of Human Creativity?

Comment #104839 by jo5ef on December 29, 2007 at 4:14 pm

This comment: "without the steady pressure of the Darwinian 'strange inversion of reasoning,' it is all too tempting to revert to the old essentialist, Cartesian perspectives" accords closely with my own view. Darwin gave us the tools to develop The "bottom up" vs "top down" view of creation, and we need to use them to generate satisfying alternative explanations of any phenomena previusly considered inaccessaible to scientific explanation. For instance, I would use a similar argument as Dennet has used here for instance against the Paleys watch argument - after all, no single person designed the hypothetical watch found by Paley - any timepiece is a product of a massive cultural design space search involving various selective pressures.

41. Do our leaders believe in God?

Comment #103762 by jo5ef on December 26, 2007 at 6:11 pm

"sensible men never tell" Perhaps we have reached a point where sensible men are beginning to?

I too believe in "the forward march of reason" but i'm not sure if this belief is faith based or not :-0

42. What Your Brain Looks Like on Faith

Comment #101115 by jo5ef on December 19, 2007 at 10:57 pm

I can almost hear professor Frink " this ahem faithometer will soon tell us if the subject has been exposed to a source of ahur religious errr emanations, and , if so, will give a value from 1 to 10 which, if I triangulate ..carry the one.."

C'mon fellow athiests, surely Sam Harris of all people must realize that if there's one thing you cant measure, almost by definition, it's faith. Theyll USE this to show how we reductionists just dont get it.

43. Dogs Can Classify Complex Photos In Categories Like Humans Do

Comment #92864 by jo5ef on December 1, 2007 at 3:55 pm

Good argument for objective reality. Reminds me of reading an article years ago in a university magazine by a philosophy student that argued that a tree (for example) was an artificially constructed concept that we're all brainwashed into accepting as real. Some weeks later I saw an article (similar to the one above) showing how chickens could be taught to recognise the concept of a tree, and i thought: Wow, chickens are smarter than philosophy majors.